Reverend Ron Tibbetts is a Deacon in the Episcopal Church. He served as the Executive Director of Neighborhood Action Inc in Boston where he ministered to the homeless for over 17 years.

Following is an excerpt from a 2002 article on his ministry with Neighborhood Action;

“If you happen to be standing on the Boston Common just before 7 A.M. on any given day, you might see Ron Tibbets walking to church. Plant yourself anywhere between the Park Street ‘T’ stop and the State House and you might hear him call out the name of somebody lying on a bench before stopping to talk for a few moments. Then he continues on, making his way up to Beacon Street, then around the corner and down the hill onto Bowdoin Street.

The Rev. Ronald Tibbets, a vocational deacon in the diocese, is the executive director of Neighborhood Action Inc., which operates as the social ministry arm of St. John’s.

Mopping floors of the parish hall at St. John’s, helping in the kitchen and then putting on the clerical collar to say the blessing at the Thursday evening meal, Deacon Tibbets is, in the words of the prayer book, interpreting “to the church the needs, concerns and hopes of the world.” And he is joined by a dedicated cadre of staff members and volunteers who find that they are humbled, challenged and fed by their involvement with Neighborhood Action.

Leaving theological or liturgical differences at the door, volunteers get to work in creating “a place of trust and certainty,” as Deacon Tibbets put it. Sometimes, when he offers a mealtime prayer of thanksgiving for the presence of all gathered, he gets a round of applause in return.

Deacon Tibbets and others are fed because they are honored to have been trusted by their guests, even if they are sometimes startled by what they hear. And everyone has been transformed.”

Most recently Rev Tibbetts has been an integral part of the #2069 project. This campaign, originated at Trinity Episcopal Church in Wrentham Massachusetts, seeks to reduce stigma and promote understanding of substance use disorder.